Thread holder for looms



-o v. PAYNE THREAD HOLDER Fon, LoQMs Filed oci. 29,l 19:54

oct. 13, 1936.`

2 Sheets-Sheet' 4 Oct. 13, 1936. 0, v PAYNE4 2,057,392.

' THRAD HOLDER FOR LOOMS u Filed oct. 29, 1954 4 2 sheets-sheet 2Patented Oct. A 13, 1936 UNITED STATES PAT-ENT OFFICE THREAD HOLDER FORLOGMS f Oscar V. Payne, Leicester, Mass., assignor to Crompton &`Knowles Loom Works, Worcester, Mass., a corporatlonA of MassachusettsApplication October 29, 1934, Serial No.`750,404 ,2 claims. (cuasi- 257)This invention relates lto thread holders for weft replenishing loomsand it is the general object of the invention to provide a device ofthis type so constructed as .to 'tension evenly any` one V of a numberof threads, particularly coarse yarns.

Heretofore I have proposed a' thread holder havinga pair of flutedArolls between which pass the weft ends extending froma reservemagazine. 'I'he rolls are ordinarily constructedso .as to tension thethreads without causing unwinding 'at the bobbin, and keep them taut sothat they will be above the path of the moving lay. As shown in myReissuesPatent fNo.` 19,100 the `rolls are h caused to turn,bya forcederived from a sus- 1-5 pended weightfwhichismovedLby loom vibration.

When adapting a thread holder of this general type for use withcoarselyarns I have found that the rolls should :be comparatively largeboth as to diameter andxlength and I haveV also found that it isdesirable to have a considerable length of thread between the Yrolls and'theguide surface over which the threads pass when moving from themagazine. It is an important object of my present invention to providemeans for mounting relatively -large rolls at a substantial distancefrom the guide surface preferably in such a way that this distance canif desired be varied to meet conditions arising from differently sizedyarns.

Because of the size of the rolls I deem .it advisable to mount them on asupport independent of the loom and not vibrating withsthe latter.Because of this fact the previously mentioned swinging weight cannot vbeused toadvantage, and kin its place I employ a pawl and ratchet feed.actuated by some moving part of the loom. As .shown herein the drive isderived from the lay preferably -by `connections from the rocker ironwhich supports the picker stick, although this particular relation isnot essential.

When heavy yarnsare used there is a tendency in former thread holdersfor the threads to bunch together with resultant uneven tensions. It isa further object of my invention to provide a guide surface for thethreads so curved as to effect a 45, distribution of thejthreads so theywill tend to spread out to form substantially a single isheet of threadsall `of which can be subjected to substantially the same tension.

With these and other objects in View which will. appear the descriptionproceeds, my 'invention resides in the combination and arrangement ofparts hereinafter described and 'setforth in the claims.

Inthe accompanying drawings, whereina convenient embodiment of myinvention isset forth,

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of one end of theA loom showing myinvention,

Fig. 2 is an enlarged front elevation of certain `parts of Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is an end elevationtaken in` thedirection of arrow 3, Fig. 2, f

Fig. 4 is a plan View taken in the direction of arrow 4, Fig. 2,

Fig. 5 is a -detailed vertical section on line 5-5 of Fig. 4,

. Fig. 6 is a detailed plan view in the direction of Aarrow 6, Fig. l,and Fig. 7 is a diagrammatic view showing the relation between thethreads from the reserve bobbins, the curved surfaces of the guide, andthe rolls.

Referring particularly to Fig. 1, vthe loom frame I0 supports a lay IIhaving swords one of which is shown at I2. A rocker shaft I3 supportsthe lay and has suitable bearings in the loom frame. Extendingfrorn theend of the shaft is a rocker iron I4 secured to the shaft I3 an-drocking with thelatter and the lay. The bottom shaft I5, picking arm I6,picking shoe Il, sweep arm I8 and picker stick I9 may be of usualconstruction. 'I'he stick is preferably pivoted as at 20 to the rockeriron` I4 inthe usual manner.

The magazine M is attached to the loom frame andaccommodates a series ofbobbins B from which extend weft ends W.

The loom may be of the usual multicolor weft replenishing type and willbe equipped with a magazine M having reserve bobbins B with weft ends W,together with mechanism not shown for bringing about a transfer of oneor another of the bobbins into the active shuttle. After a fresh bobbinis inserted into the depletedshuttle it will be picked to the oppositeside of the loom and the shuttle eye threading operations require thatthe thread end of the freshly transferred bobbin shall be heldsufficiently tight to cause the weft to be drawn down into the shuttleeye. Another reason for holding the weft ends taut results from thejarring and vibration incident to loom operation, `causing the bobbinsto turn on their axes and unwind the weft ends until they fall lowenough to be in the path of and become broken by the lay. 'I'hemechanism to be described hereinafter has as an important object thetightening or straightening of the weft ends ,so that they will be atall times taut enough for shuttle threading and above thelay,substantially as shown in Fig. l.

In carrying my invention into effect I provide a thread holderdesignated generally at T preferably supported Aindependently of `theloom and adjacent the magazine end thereof, as set forth in Fig. 1. Theholder comprises a base 30 and an upright pipe 3| held therein by ascrew 32. The top of the pipe has secured thereto a thread guide 33which may be formed substantially as shown in Figs. 2 and 3 with asurface C that is convex in a plane substantially parallel to the lay asshown in Fig. 2 and concave with respect to a plane transverse of thelay. Vertical walls or cheek plates 34 may be secured to the sides ofthe holder to keep the threads from slipping olf the curved surface. Theguide has a depending shank 35 through which extends a holding screw 36and by means of which the guide is held to the top of the pipe.

The thread feeding mechanism comprises a casing 40 in which are mountedfor rotation a pair of fluted rolls 4| and 42, respectively, each havingvanes or teeth 43 so moving that each set of vanes intersects the pathof movement of the other set to cause a thread lying between the tworolls to be deformed. Roll4l is secured to a stud 45 rotating in a xedbearing 46 of the casing, while the other roll rotates around a secondstud 41 xed to the casing and the position of which is adjustablerelatively to the axis of roll 4|. The particular mode of mounting therolls may be substantially as set forth in my prior Patent No. 1,979,765to which reference may be had for a more complete understanding of themounting. Horizontal slot 52 in the casing permits the stud 41 to assumeany one of a plurality of positions relatively to the other stud. Thecasing 40 may have an overhanging ledge 48 as set forth in the lastnamed patent to keep the weft ends `from being caught betweeen thecasing and the adjacent ends of the fluted rolls. The casing is held invertically adjusted position on the pipe by means of a set screw 49.

In order to impart motion to the rolls I secure to stud 45 a ratchetwheel 60 and arrange the same in the path of a vertically reciprocatingpawl rod 6|. The latter has a pointed head 62 to coact with the-teeth ofthe ratchet wheel and a light spring 63 interposed between the rod and afixed part of the casing holds the head 62 against the ratchet. y f

In order to reciprocate the rod 6| I provide an oscillatable rod 65shown particularly in Figs. l and 6 having on the inner end thereof ahead 66 which is held to the rocker iron I4 by screws 61. The rodextends outwardly and may be offset as at 68 so that the outer end 69thereof is substantially in alignment with the axis of shaft I3. Thebase 30 has a web 10 through which the end 69 of the rod passes so thatit will be guided and held against undue vibration. I find that it isnot necessary to provide a close running fit between the rod and the web1U.

A rocking arm 15 is held in angular adjustment on the rod by means of aset screw 16 and has the outer endthereof slotted as at 11 to receive astud 18 locatable at various distances from the shaft end 69. The lowerend of the pawl rod 6| is pivotally supported on the stud 18.

During normal loom operation the shaft I3 will rock back and forth inits bearings and will cause an loscillation of the rocker iron |4. Thisin turn causes movement of the rod 65 and causes the outer end 69thereof to have an oscillating movement similar to that of the rockershaft. The arm 15 is therefore raised and lowered altermately, moving upas set forth herein when the lay moves forwardly, although I do not deemthis an essential relation. When the arm 15 rises the head 62 of the rod6| will give the ratchet wheel and therefore fluted roll 4| a partialrotation in a counter-clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 3. By meansof a force transmitted through the yarns the other fluted roll will becaused to rotate in the opposite direction, thereby causing adeformation in the yarns which tensions and holds them taut. As the laymoves backwardly the pawl will have an idle or non-working down strokeand will slide over the ratchet without causing retrograde movementthereof.

Another feature of the invention relates to the spreading of the severalweft ends into sheet form so that the tension on the threads might beuniform. This result I accomplish by providing the guide with a surfacehaving a compound curve as already described. I nd in practice that theweft ends which are drawn from the magazine distribute themselves overthe curved surface C without objectionable overlapping and thatafterleaving this surface they spread out somewhat fan-shaped as theyapproach the rolls 4| and 42.

The behaviour of the threads is similar to that shown in Fig. 7, wherethe vertical lines and 8| ,representy two slots in the magazine fromwhich the weft ends issue. The threads from each slot extend down in asheet as shown, the upper threads tending to move toward the center ofthe curve C, and the lower threads toward the outer edges thereof. Afterleaving the curved surface C the threads spread out as shown in thelower part of Fig. '1, and avoid bunching or crowding. In this way theseveral threads are subjected to more or less the same tension and thefeed of the pawl and spacing of the rolls can be set to give a minimumbut suiicient drawing action on the weft ends to keep them above the layand cause proper threading of the shuttle eye.

In Fig. '1 the areas covered by shade lines represent the sheets of weftthreads or ends and the lines extending across these areas are for thepurpose of indicating the twist in the sheets as they passtoward andbeyond the guide surface.

yFrom' the .foregoing it will be seen that I have provided a form ofthread holder adaptable for the use of coarse yarns and so constructedthat the threads spread out in a sheet of more or less uniform thicknessto prevent lapping or crowding. By using an independent mounting for thethread guide and rolls I am able to make these devices in large enoughproportions to accommodate the coarser threads for which they are moreparticularly designed. While the thread guide and rolls are mounted on asupport independent of the loom yet I do not vwish necessarily to belimited to this mode of support. It will also be seen that the threadguide and rolls are so mounted that relative adjustment of the distancebetween them can be effected and also each of these devices is angularlymovable about the pipe 3|. The result of this relation permits a changein the direction of delivering the threads from the guide toward therolls. Furthermore, I have provided a simple means for actuating therollsl by a connection of the rocker iron of the lay. The control of thethreads is considerably facilitated by having the guide surface curvedin such a way that it is concave in a cross section transverse of theweft ends and convex in a cross section parallel to the weft ends.

Having thus described my invention it will be seen that changes andmodifications may be made therein by those skilled in the art withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the in- Vvention and I do notwish to be limited to the details herein disclosed, but what I claim is:

l. In a weft replenishing loom, a magazine from which extend weft endsin two spaced sheets, a pair of rotatable tensioning rolls having teethmoving in paths which intersect along a line below the magazine andpointed in the general direction of the magazine, and a thread guidelocated between the magazinevand rolls to produce a bend in the weftends, said guide having an upwardly facing curved thread engagingsurface convex with respect to the line along which the weft ends lieand concave upwardly in a direction transverse to the line along whichthe weft ends lie, the weft ends of one sheet extending along theadjacent part of the concave surface and the weft ends of the othersheet extending along another part of the concave surface adjacent tosaid other sheet, the weft ends passing down uninterruptedly from theguide surface to the rolls and being spread out along said line of theintersecting paths.

2. In a weft replenishing loom, a magazine to hold a pair of stacks ofreserve bobbins, the weft ends of the stacks leading from the magazinein spaced sheets, a pair of rotatable weft tensioning rolls having teethwhich travel in paths that intersect along a line substantially parallelto the axes of the bobbins in the magazine, and a weft end guideinterposed between the magazine and rolls, said guide having a weft endengaging surface which is concave upwardly along a section takentransverse of the line along which the said paths intersect and saidsurface being convex along a section substantially parallel to the linealong which the said paths intersect, the central part of the guidesurface measured transversely of the weft ends being lower than theouter parts thereof, the weft ends passing down uninterruptedly'from theengaging surface tc the rolls, the weft ends from each stack of bobbinsbeing spread out over that part of the engaging surface on the side ofthe said central part adjacent the stack, and the weft ends extending ina sheet toward said line along which the said paths intersect.

OSCAR V. PAYNE.

